The detection of weak magnetic fields with high spatial resolution is an important problem in diverse areas ranging from fundamental physics and material science to data storage and biomedical science.
Over the past few decades, a wide variety of magnetic sensors have been developed using approaches that include, but are not limited to, SQUIDS (superconducting quantum interference devices), atomic vapor-based magnetometers, and magnetic resonance force microscopy. Even state-of-the-art systems have great difficulty, however, in detecting weak magnetic fields in small regions of space and under ambient environmental conditions, such as temperature.
There is a need for systems and methods for detecting magnetic fields with both higher precision and spatial resolution.